> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: /docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bounces & Suppressions

> What happens when emails can't be delivered — and how Mailofly protects your reputation automatically.

# Bounces & Suppressions 🛡️

Sometimes emails just don't make it. The address doesn't exist, the inbox is full, or the recipient marked your email as spam. When that happens, Mailofly steps in to protect you.

Sending to bad addresses over and over can damage your domain's reputation and land your good emails in spam. So Mailofly watches out for this and blocks future sends to problem addresses automatically.

***

## Two kinds of bounces

Think of it like this: some problems are permanent, some are temporary.

| Type | What it means | What Mailofly does |
| :- | :- | :- |
| **Hard bounce** | The address flat-out doesn't work. Doesn't exist, domain is gone, mailbox deleted. | Immediately added to your **Suppression List**. Mailofly will never try sending to it again. |
| **Soft bounce** | A temporary problem. Inbox full, server momentarily down, etc. | Mailofly keeps retrying automatically for up to 48 hours. If it still can't get through, the email is marked as failed. |

***

## Spam complaints

When someone clicks "Mark as Spam" or "Move to Junk" in Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, or similar — Mailofly hears about it automatically through something called a Feedback Loop (FBL).

Here's what happens next:

1. The email's status updates to `complained`
2. A `email.complained` webhook fires to let your app know
3. That contact gets added to your suppression list so you never email them again

***

## Your Suppression List

You can see everyone on the list and why they're there:

1. Go to **Audience** → **Suppressions** in your dashboard
2. Browse the list — each entry shows the reason (bounce, complaint, or manual unsubscribe)
3. If you believe an entry is wrong (like a customer resolved a typo in their email address), hit **Remove Suppression** to allow sends again

> Be careful about removing suppressions carelessly. If you keep emailing someone who complained, you risk your whole domain's deliverability — not just for that one contact.


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